Customer Reviews

When Television Was Young: The Inside Story with Memories by Legends of the Small Screen

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In writing this review, I need to share a bit about myself. I was born in 1947 in Austria, then raised in Germany, and came to the United States in 1965 with my parents and my brother. My mother and my brother did not speak English very well, so a friend of ours brought us a TV set so that they could learn it. I did not watch too much TV until 1967 when I started to watch the CBS Evening News every day upon return home. My mother enjoyed CONCENTRATION and TO TELL THE TRUTH. My father's favorites were GUNSMOKE and PERRY MASON. I myself enjoyed ANDY GRIFFITH and GOMER PYLE, U. S. M. C.; I still fondly remember these. Ed McMahon's description of TV starts with it during and after World War II, and for me, that was a learning experience. He accurately describes the functions of Walter Cronkite as CBS anchorman and Chet Huntley and David Brinkley as NBC anchors; I still remember these shows. He does not, however, mention news shows such as MEET THE PRESS (NBC), FACE THE NATION (CBS), and ISSUES AND ANSWERS (ABC), and this is a major omission in his otherwise excellent book. He mentions several other shows, but makes no mention of ANDY GRIFFITH or GOMER PYLE, U. S. M. C., either. But this is his way of doing things, and I realize that he had a volume of shows to cover, such as I LOVE LUCY, THE PRICE IS RIGHT, HAWAII-FIVE-O (which I enjoyed, too), and others. Of course, he mentions his role in THE TONIGHT SHOW, in which he aided Johnny Carson. From time to time, he hosted CONCENTRATION; he does not mention that in his book, but I remember him doing so. Another thing he mentions is the long-time role of Bob Barker as host of THE PRICE IS RIGHT; Bob Barker only recently retired from that show, and was replaced by Drew Carey, whom McMahon also mentions. But in summary, this is an excellent recap of television in its youth, and I enjoyed reading it. And I realize that McMahon had his way of selecting the shows to mention, and do not criticize him for not mentioning my favorites. I am sure there are many other readers who also have favorite TV shows from the past.

As anyone who's ever watched "The Tonight Show" knows, you couldn't find a better MC than Ed McMahon. At first glance, this appears to be his memoirs, something every TV personality writes. But it's so much more. At just over 300 pages, drenched in black and white photos, with memorable pull quotes and cut lines on every page, it's merely the liveliest, most informative and entertaining history of the early days of television out there. Much of that credit must go to co-author David Fisher, who also co-authored George Burns' lilting tribute to his wife and partner, Gracie Allen, Gracie. a Love Story.

Everyone is in here, from Lucille Ball to Milton Berle; Steve Allen to "The Goldbergs"; "Sgt. Bilko" to Fulton Sheen. And, of course, Johnny Carson. Ed not only captures the heady days when TV was newborn, confined to New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago; broadcast to a few hundred, and then a few thousand homes from the basement of a department store or an unused theatre; when the test pattern gave way to a few hours a day of black and white programs. He also alludes to the early discoveries and continuing advances in TV technology in equally entertaining anecdotes with the "you are there" perspective of an early pioneer who was born with, and grew up with the medium.

Many will remember these shows and performers in this trip down memory lane. But you could have no prior knowledge of anything in this book, and still learn a great deal in this enjoyable read. While Ed gives a long and intriguing rundown of TV talk shows, the sort of show he knows best, he also hits all the other bases, from kids' TV to cop shows, to news and sports, game shows, sitcoms and soap operas. Being very interested in TV history, I've read dozens of books on the topic, but still found myself learning new facts and stories on nearly every page.

Now that television is old, it's lost a lot of its early spontaneity, and certainly its innocence. Reading how it came about, what it once was, and what people once put into making it the best it could be, makes one hope that television can once again be rescued, and its lost innocence restored. If it can, it will be in no small part to Ed McMahon and David Fisher, who here recall the daring and passion, the verve and vigor when television was young.

I really enjoyed reading this book. If you are a baby boomer or older, it will bring back some fond memories.

I remember watching "Broadway Open House" in the '50's- It was the original "Tonight Show". I had almost forgotten Jerry Lester, Milton DeLugg and "Dagmar". After that came Steve Allen, Jack Paar and the Johnny Carson with his sidekick Ed McMahon (Who wrote the book, Milton Berle, Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Amos and Andy, the soaps,- it's all there in living black and white. I don't think that anyone is more qualified to write a book on early television than Ed MacMahon. He was in the thick of it from the beginning. His coverage of the early transition from vaudeville to radio to TV is great. All of the early performers are covered and I learned much that I did not know. This is a "must read", fascinating book for anyone interested in the history of telvision.

Known primarily for his longtime role on "The Tonight Show" and the signature phrase, "Heeeres Johnny" Ed McMahon's work in early television is generally overlooked. He was there literally at the creation of television, doing what was necessary in order to earn his pay. He did everything from announcing to hosting game shows to even appearing as a clown. McMahon read the news, did commercials and even wrote some of his own material. In the early days, all of television was live and there was no taping for future playback. This of course led to many unusual situations, where it was necessary to ad lib around flubs and prop malfunctions.
While the anecdotes about the events and entertainers are interesting and entertaining, to me the most interesting material refers to the now amazing inability of executives to understand the new medium of television. Most of the executives believed that no one would be interested in watching a comedy more than once so they considered the taping of a show to be an unwarranted expense. One of the most absurd and foolish "cost cutting" moves ever done was when the producers of "The Tonight Show" taped over previous shows in order to save a few dollars. It is safe to say that those shows would be worth millions now if they existed.
Other than the largely between the lines lesson on how new technologies are so poorly understood, there is not a lot of in-depth history in this book. It is a factual and amusing look back at a time when everyone was making it all up as they went along. People that were doing nothing more than getting their next show on the air were making major breakthroughs; no one realized at the time what they had done.

GREAT BOOK--- A LOT OF READING-- NOT A LOT OF PICTURES--- WHICH I LIKE --- BUT GREAT FOR THE PRICE I PAID---ONLY 2.50